


Apple Blossom

by Katharos



Category: Detective Academy Q
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-12-24
Updated: 2009-12-24
Packaged: 2017-10-05 04:13:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/37691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katharos/pseuds/Katharos
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ryu, Kyu, an abandoned classroom and a message. Contains spoilers for episode 39.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Apple Blossom

**Author's Note:**

> Written for fic_on_demand, for [](http://miyuki-mina.livejournal.com/profile)[**miyuki_mina**](http://miyuki-mina.livejournal.com/) for something using the language of flowers.

It felt strange, Ryu thought, stifling a yawn behind his hand as he walked down the corridor of the old house towards the classroom. He had spent the night in Kyu's home, and he had come in with Kyu until the other boy had been distracted by a notice on the board downstairs and waved him on. It was strange that while in his old house he had managed to regulate his sleep patterns exactly, despite the constant tension, in Kyu's home where something inside him whispered reassurance and safety he had stayed awake into the early hours of the morning, trading case studies with Kyu.

Still, despite the tiredness that lingered in his arms as he pushed upon the door of Q classroom, he felt more rested than he could ever remember being.

And all it took to dispel that was the sight of a sprig of apple blossom, resting pale and perfect in the early morning sunlight on his desk. Immediately tension sprang back into his shoulders, winding them tight, and something cold settled in his heart.

The message was clear, and he took it in slowly as he walked over to his desk, letting it settle into his bones and cool into knowledge. _Even here,_ the flowers told him. _Even here, we can reach you._ His hand closed convulsively over the stem of the branch.

"Ryu!" The door banged open and Kyu tumbled in, panting and flushed from exertion and Ryu turned, startled. "It's a haunted house!" Kyu explained excitedly. "They're trying to get enough people together to organise a trip, Ryu, and we could investigate all the rumours and…" Kyu's voice trailed off; confused, Ryu followed the direction of his gaze to the sprig of apple blossom he held in front of him. Ryu blinked down at it, realising he had carried it with him when he turned. "What is that?" Kyu asked curiously.

Ryu answered after a moment's pause. "It's apple blossom." He had to resist the completely illogical urge to hide it behind his back and deny its very existence to Kyu.

Kyu dumped his bag on the floor and walked over to Ryu, studying the apple blossoms. A gleam of interest at even so minor a mystery was already growing in his eyes, and Ryu had to fight with himself not to respond to that, to remind himself that this was one mystery he could not bear for Kyu to solve. "Where did you find it?" Kyu asked interestedly.

"It was on my desk when I came in," Ryu answered simply.

Kyu frowned. "Why?"

"Ah," Ryu lifted the branch up, grateful it could serve as a fan to hide his face from Kyu. "A girl from another class probably left it here."

Kyu nodded thoughtfully in agreement, and despite everything Ryu had to struggle to hold back a smile. Had it been anyone else, he knew, he would have been immediately accused of arrogance for assuming a girl had left flowers for him; accusations fuelled in no small part by his accusers suspicion that he was correct in his assumption. Kyu though, now his attention had been engaged, simply accepted it as good and logical evidence and moved onto the next part of the mystery.

"Why would she leave apple blossoms?" Kyu wondered. "Don't girls usually like roses and… stuff," he finished weakly.

Ryu nodded. "Roses are a traditional symbol of love. However;" he held the apple blossom up for Kyu to see, struggling to push back the cold he felt spreading within him as he was at last forced to consider the other message they contained. "All flowers can mean things, if you know their language." Like Anubis, and his black roses. "Apple blossoms mean 'fame speaks him great and good.'" Why? Ryu asked himself silently. Why that message? Could Anubis honestly believe he would ever think of Pluto as great and good? But perhaps Anubis meant that Ryu would never be able to keep his fate silent: fame, or infamy, would declare it in the end.

It was not strange, really, that Anubis favoured flowers for his messengers. Flowers mean nothing, unless you know how to look. Like Pluto's presence in a murder. Like himself.

"That's perfect for Ryu then!" Kyu laughed.

Ryu jerked back as if he had been slapped. "What do you mean?" he asked before he could stop himself.

"Because Ryu's the greatest detective I know!" Kyu exclaimed. He paused for a second, then amended embarrassedly. "Apart from Dan-sensei. And - and Ryu's one of the most good people I know!" He stuck his hand behind his head sheepishly. "Or something like that."

Ryu stared at him, unable to understand why a moment could feel so heavy and yet so fragile at the same time. "Kyu," he began, and then the decision came so fast it was almost like an impulse. "Here. You can have them." He held them out.

"Huh?!" Kyu stared at the branch of blossoms, his eyes wide.

"I want you to have them," Ryu repeated patiently. "They suit you better."

"Eh?!" Kyu's face was almost pure, uncomprehending confusion, his eyes looked nearly ready to fall out of their sockets, and he still hadn't made any motion to accept the branch.

Ryu pushed the blossoms into Kyu's chest, and then Kyu had no choice but to grab them before they fell to the floor. Ryu left him staring after him in bewilderment as he turned back to his desk.

Kyu didn't need to know about the other meaning, Ryu decided, as he sat down and opened his bag. Still, he would tell him someday. What it meant. When he told Kyu everything else, he would tell him that. For now, Ryu thought, it was enough that he knew it. Enough that he knew what had been declared. _Preference._

 

_Apple Blossom: Fame speaks him great and good, preference._


End file.
